Sardinal is a hot town on the Nicoya Peninsula, one of the world’s five regions commonly known as Blue Zones, where people tend to live ​longer and healthier lives and are more likely to reach the age of 100.

Shelton ends Alcaraz’s US Open title defence in the tournament’s latest-finishing match, keeping alive American hopes of a first men’s Grand Slam champion since 2003.

Iran strikes a US base in Jordan after Washington destroys five Iranian tankers, while Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia wound 73 and fuel fears of wider energy disruption.

The ‌Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 2025 test of 760,000 15-year-olds across 91 countries showed reading, mathematics and science scores at their lowest levels since data began to be collected in 2000.

The anti-immigrant, pro-Russia AfD won nearly 44 percent of the vote, an outcome that underlined the deep unpopularity of Merz’s ruling coalition and also triggered alarm among neighbours and elsewhere.

Trapped in an air pocket beneath the wreckage of a hydropower tunnel, two workers endured nine days of darkness, mud and dwindling hope before rescuers heard a faint sound from underground.

Iran has throttled ​traffic through the strait, a vital global oil and gas supply route, since the war with the United States began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28.

Two days after the Games ended, the People’s Liberation Army’s official newspaper drew its own conclusions from the show.

The result deepens pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition, as the far-right party’s record state-level gains raise the prospect of its first path to power since the Nazi era.

Volcanic ash from repeated eruptions has disrupted air travel around Jakarta, with 170,000 passengers affected by cancellations and schools shifting to remote learning in some areas.

Tehran says it will pursue economic reforms to counter sanctions and war-related pressures, while warning that any further attack on Iran would draw a faster and more damaging response.

Tasnim, the semi-official Iranian news agency, had reported that four US missiles hit a tanker in the area of Kharg’s anchorage.

Volcanic ash from Mount Anak Krakatau disrupts hundreds of flights around Jakarta, while schools suspend activities and fishermen stay ashore as authorities warn of continued hazards.

Putin praised Trump’s efforts to end the war but offered no sign of a breakthrough as US envoys pressed Moscow on a possible settlement, with major differences over territory and Ukraine’s future security still unresolved.

Iranian state television ​on Thursday said that a 22-year-old woman had died in hospital following the strike that hit a home during a wedding, taking the total reported death toll ​to five.